


Love, the Eighth Cardinal Sin

by j520j



Series: Azirafell, The Soft Demon [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angel Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Kids (Good Omens), Crowley is Raphael, Demon Aziraphale (Good Omens), Fluff, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), M/M, Pre-Relationship, Reverse Omens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-25 18:44:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21360934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j520j/pseuds/j520j
Summary: How could this happen?Actually Azirafell knew very well how it happened, but still he wondered: How?
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Azirafell, The Soft Demon [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544242
Comments: 10
Kudos: 176





	1. Chapter 1

How could this happen?

Actually Azirafell knew very well how it happened, but still he wondered: _How?_

There he was, taking care of his affairs in Paradise, when She summoned some angels to receive what was called the 'Alpha version' of a mortal body. Even before planet Earth itself was created. When the yellow star called the Sun was still in its genesis.

Azirafell, who at the time was called Aziraphale, willingly volunteered. He, then a Cherub, received a lovely plump, round-faced body with blue eyes and light blond hair like the rays of the future Sun. He was very fond of his new vessel, especially his beautiful white wings.

“Maybe it's better without the wings?” he remembers Uriel suggesting to Her. "I mean, I liked them, but it will be a little difficult to maintain discipline in mortals if they have the power to fly around."

The suggestion was noted and appreciated. The humans who would inhabit the future Earth would have a body similar to angels, but without wings. Aziraphale found it unfair, since he learning to fly he simply couldn’t imagine doing anything else in life. That was wonderful, fun, liberating...

... and tiring! Not to mention that when he exercised his body, an unpleasant liquid leaked from his pores and that stiffened his white robes with an unpleasant smell.

Over time, the Cherub realized that he would rather walk than fly.

"But you can get energy from Her own source," said Uriel, surprised by the blond's decision to keep walking most of the time.

“I know, but I still get tired!” was his shy answer.

That was Strike One.

Laziness.


	2. Chapter 2

Planet Earth was created, and on Day Four, the plants colored the Garden of Eden with all its colors, aromas, and flavors.

Aziraphale immediately liked them. The smell was pleasant, the texture was soft and the taste... oh, the taste! His favorites were strawberries, bananas, blackberries, plums, oranges and persimmons. He didn't like avocado very much, although he believed it could get better if he added something. And although he liked coconut and pineapple, they were too hard to open.

When he returned to Heaven, Sandalphon caught him carrying various fruits in his white cloak.

"Why did you bring these substances up here?" the Archangel asked, somewhat afraid.

“I brought to eat them!” was the Cherub's cheerful response. “So I don't have to go down to the Garden every time I'm hungry.”

"Hunger? You're an angel, you don't feel hungry. ”

"Oh, but I like eating, whatever!"

"Consuming these substances unnecessarily seems somewhat ... irregular."

"Oh, do you think so?" Aziraphale's question came with genuine concern, although asking it while eating a pear made him look a little cynical.

That was Strike Two.

Gluttony.


	3. Chapter 3

Aziraphale has been banned from going down to the Garden, but he simply cannot contain himself.

On the Fifth Day, after the creation of the animals, he had the idea of disguising himself as one of them. He took the form of a white swan and began to frequent the Garden, savoring the fruits at his disposal.

That was the Sixth Day and God had just created humanity. Aziraphale swam peacefully, with some raspberries under his wing, when he witnessed God's new creation.

Adam walked through the garden holding hands with Eve. They would be the ruling race to reign on the Earth. Happy, they shared the fruits and played with the animals, at that time all peaceful and kind. A life of eternal happiness and full bellies.

_Lucky ones!_ the angel thought. _You will have all the fruits and animals available! You will be able to taste all the delicious things and I will be in Heaven with nothing to taste._

Strike Three.

Envy.


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriel was fast. Much faster than the Cherub could anticipate.

"G-gabriel, I'm s-sorry, so sorry!" Aziraphale looked back. The sweat he hated so much was running down his face as he tried to fly as fast as possible into the vastness of the sky. "I ... I'm sorry, I swear!"

"Silence!" the Archangel flew fast, his eagle wings were large and intimidating. And even more intimidating was the claymore sword he brandished. “Your disobedience ends here!”

"Gabriel, wait! We are heavenly brothers! You can't ... y-you can't really want ...! ”

"Shut up your stupid mouth and DIE already!"

The sharp blade pierced the Cherub's back. He just didn't scream because the air in his lungs was stolen from him and blood rushed up his throat. In horror he looked down at his chest and realized that the point of the sword had pierced him.

_I’ll die?!?_ he thought in panic. _I don't want to die! Is not fair! I ... I just ...!_

Aziraphale didn't know it yet, but only his physical body was dying. The Archangel's punishment disincarnated him, and at his three sins, his soul Fell beyond the Earth's ground and reached a lower area. The Hell.

_Damn you all ...!_ It was his last thought before turning into a demon. On the way down, he knew a new sin.

Wrath.


	5. Chapter 5

The courtesy the former Cherub received in Hell was not the best one.

Dagon fished his battered soul from the sulfur lake and offered him a new body, very similar to the previous one. The only difference was that his eyes had different colors, one turned green and the other brown. Never again would he have blue eyes.

The other demons weren't very friendly. Azirafell, as he would be known now, was a 'late fall'. He was not part of Lucifer's rebellion, and when Beelzebub found out why he was sentenced to the Fall, she began to laugh.

“Ohhh, what a beautiful demonic acquisition we got this time, huh? You’re a fat, lazy and envious bloke! Hahaha! I'm sure you’ll make a good career here in Hell!”

Azirafell was already too hurt to even pay attention to her mockery. By the way, he had better not show it, because if Heaven's punishment was to make him a demon, the punishment that demons would have for him for his disobedience would be much worse.

He didn't even have a rank in the infernal hordes yet. The others called him a ‘imp’ just to tease him.

“Okay, I'll give you a job. Even in Hell we have little tolerance for Laziness.” Dagon handed him a grimy scroll with a mission. "Go to the Garden of Eden and make some trouble."

Faced with that mission, the demon widened his uneven eyes. He seemed happy with the idea of being able to return to the Garden, and this time he was willing to do a good job.

"I will not fail, Lady Dagon!" he said, determined. “But first, a question: can I eat the garden fruits during the mission?”

"Sure!" there was amusement in the demon's voice. “You can eat the whole Garden, I don't give a shit! In fact, that would cause a lot of trouble for Heaven!”

Azirafell smiled for the first time since becoming a demon. The thought of having all the delights of the Garden to himself brought forth a new feeling within him.

Greed.


	6. Chapter 6

The demon could no longer return to the pure white form of the swan, but soon he learned a new animal form: an owl.

His brown wings, with black and white accents, helped him to hide among the trees. His heterochromatic eyes worked much better than the swan's weak eyes. Since his conversion to demon was recent, it would be harder for angels to notice his demonic presence and this would also aid in his camouflage.

He still wasn't sure what to do to cause trouble in the Garden. Start a fire? Bring down some trees in the river and cause a flood? Sour some fruits? No, spoiling food he’d never allow himself to do.

A small bird's stomach was not enough for him to satisfy all his desire to eat, after all he was in Hell starving for several weeks. Hidden in the leafy canopy of a tree, Azirafell returned to his human form and concentrated on eating some guavas. Between one bite and another, he realizes that he wasn’t alone.

Below him, he could see the golden glow of a pair of wings. Just by feeling the powerful energy the demon already knew it was an Archangel. Worried, he wondered if it would be best to get out before he was discovered by Gabriel or Sandalphon.

But to his surprise, it wasn’t any of the Archangels he met.

He was a tall, thin man with long red hair and magnificent golden wings, shining like his eyes, which were also golden. He touched the trunk of a tree gently and seemed to mutter something under his breath to the plant. In moments, the small, shy leaves began to accelerate to green.

_How peculiar!_ Azirafell had never seen an angel with power over vegetables. _How does he do it?_

After checking that the plants were greener the red-haired angel smiles, but soon his expression changed to boredom. He sat right under the tree where the demon was hiding, and at this time Azirafell realized that the Archangel had a sword.

The demon's body shuddered involuntarily, he still remembered the pain of dying by Gabriel's sword and he would hate to feel such pain a second time. To his relief, however, the Archangel just left his sword - a long-bladed rapier with an intricate guard - leaning against the tree and walking away from the tree, walking toward the river's edge. Then he began to undress.

Azirafell had to concentrate to not fall from the tree when he saw that scene. The red-haired angel shrugged off his white cloak, leaving his slightly tanned skin exposed. He walked slowly toward the water and wet his feet. Then he began to pour water on his body.

Angels don’t need a bath. If they are dirty, they can miraculously get rid of the dirt. But that angel liked to getting wet, soaking that long red hair, that lean but muscular body that Azirafell drank with his eyes until his vision was focused on a point below the waist of the angel that... was...

_Oh!_ his thought short-circuited as his face turned hot and red. And his mortal body received a stimulus he had never felt before.

Lust.


	7. Chapter 7

Heaven really took food issues very seriously. It was enough that Eve and Adam eat the apple of the tree of knowledge to be driven out of the Garden.

When he heard that, Azirafell was shocked. Even he had to make three mistakes before he Fell, why should Heaven be tougher with poor humans? Not that he cared, of course, after all he was a demon. But the feeling of injustice was big.

The blonde tried to rationalize the issue: Outside the Garden there was only a ruthless desert and bestial beasts. The human race would probably not survive until the couple's firstborn were born. And this could go against Hell's plans, as the demonic hordes needed God to remain distracted by the mortals' troubles for a few more millennia until Lucifer recovered from defeat and could take revenge.

_Should I do something? But what?!?_

The couple, dressed in animal skins, began to walk toward the edges of the Garden. The place was large enough to take a few hours before humans crossed the gates and were abandoned to their inexorable fate. In the meantime Azirafell had an idea.

The red-haired Archangel who used to walk around the garden, growing plants, was always very careless with his sword. He always left it lying in a corner without caring much about it.

The occasion makes the thief.

Azirafell appeared before the humans as they were about to leave through the East Gate. He handed them the flaming rapier, asked them not to thank him, and gave them recommendations not to be near the Garden walls until sunset. It would be dangerous if they were seen.

But the demon himself forgot to follow this recommendation. He stood on the great wall, watching the humans walk away when...

“Well, that one went down like a lead balloon.” said the ginger.

"Ah!" Azirafell took a few steps to the side. “Errr ... y-yes, a little drastic, isn't it? First offense and everything!” He tried to look nonchalant, but failed miserably. “I can’t see what’s so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil, anyway.”

“It must be bad,” reasoned the angel, although he didn't seem to be very concerned “Otherwise you wouldn’t have been involved.”

The Archangel's presence was powerful. Azirafell was sure that, if the angel wanted to, he could tear him apart without even needing a sword. And if he hadn't done that yet, it might be safe to continue the conversation... _Oh! The sword...!_ he remembered.

"Hey, isn't that my sword?" the angel asked, forcing his vision to better see humans in the distance.

"Uh ... s-sword?" the demon mumbled pathetically. "Um, long and ... sharp thing...?"

“Yes, it's it. It flamed like anything.” the golden, fierce eyes turned to the demon. "They couldn't have taken my sword without me noticing, I'd notice them around from far away."

"Err, maybe you... uh ... you should notice better... other persons..."

"Huh?" the Archangel moved even closer. "What you mean?"

"I mean... uh, I ..." _Oh, damn it! I'm really fucked!_ "Ugh, I gave your sword... to them."

"You _what_?!"

“I gave it to them!” the demon raised his hands to protect himself from the inevitable attack. But it never came.

The angel looked at him with great astonishment, then turned toward the humans, watching Adam's fight against a desert beast.

"W-won't you k-kill me?" the demon regretted the question as soon as it came out. _Don't give him ideas, you idiot!_

"Why did you give my sword to them?"

"Ah, well ... er ... they looked so cold, poor things, and she's expecting already, and what with the vicious animals out there and the storm coming up I thought, well, where's the harm?" said the demon , rubbing his hands distractedly.

"Oh." the Archangel grinned. "Interesting."

Azirafell didn’t give a reply. He was still nervous as he watched the pair of humans walk away from the body of the freshly slaughtered beast in the sand.

"Raphael," said the angel, introducing himself with a smile.

"Azirafell," said the demon after a moment's hesitation.

"I think in the end you did them a good thing," the Archangel murmured.

"No!"

"No?"

“I didn't do a good thing!” Azirafell looked offended. "I am a demon! A demon can really be in trouble if he does a good thing!”

"I think so. What did you do to Fall? ”Raphael asked, full of genuine doubt. "You look too nice to be a demon."

"I'm _not_ nice!"

“Heh, whatever! What did you do to Fall? ”

"I, I ..." _Should I tell? Is it wise to tell?_ “I was too lazy to fly, and I got peckish and then I was jealous of the life humans would lead in the Garden.”

"Oh." The Archangel frowned. “That doesn't seem to me reason enough to make you Fall. I think someone up there doesn't like you. ”

"Yes, they made this point very clear."

A rain began to fall on the Garden as Adam and Eve disappeared on the horizon. The angel stretched his wing to protect Azirafell from the rain. The demon blushed, mostly because he was right next to the person who had first awakened his carnal desire.

_Did I do a good thing?_ he wondered, worried. _No, it is not possible. I made them get thrown out the Garden and I stole this Archangel's sword. But why doesn't he seem to care about that?_

The two remained on the Garden wall for some time, until Azirafell said he needed to leave. Raphael looked a little disappointed and said goodbye with a "See you next time."

The demon didn't know if there would be a next time.

...................

“Congratulations, Azirafell!” were the greetings from Beelzebub and Dagon. “You did a great job! Not only did you drive humans out of the Garden, but also stole an Archangel's sword! That was bold!”

"Thank you, my ladies."

"And where is the sword?" asked Dagon, intrigued.

“Uh… I had to get rid of it because… because a demon can't use a holy sword. So to prevent the Archangel from getting it back I destroyed it. ”

“Bravo!” the woman clapped her hands. “I confess I didn't expect so much from you. But your services to Hell will not go unnoticed. I name you Baron of Hell! You will be entitled to a small fief and free pass to Earth!”

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you very much!"

At the jealous gaze of the demons who mocked him days ago, Azirafell walked with confident steps through the infernal corridors. He was happy, especially for winning a free pass to Earth.

A new feeling exploded in his chest that was better when he saw the other demons' expression of disgust, especially as he himself began to call some of them 'imps', as he was now allowed to have a higher position than theirs.

Pride.


	8. Chapter 8

How could this happen?

Actually Azirafell knew very well how it happened, but still he wondered: _How?_

There he was, taking care of his demonic missions on Earth, when Noah received the news that all the local people would be drowned in a great flood and only he, his children, his daughters-in-law and his grandchildren would be saved.

A gigantic ark that carried a couple of every animal on Earth - too bad the dinosaurs were too big to go and one of the unicorns ran away - was built and when the last board was nailed the sky went dark.

The demon flew in his owl form in the midst of the storm. It was not easy to fly, and after the first week there was little land above the waters. Just a few mountain peaks. And it was upon one of them that he observed a peculiar figure.

Golden wings tried to protect five children from the rain. Red hair wet and glued to a face with an expression of despair.

_Raphael?!?_ even after so long the demon recognized him.

The angel was trying to save those little souls. A strange attitude, since the execution of the local population was sentenced by God. Still, he held his ground, doing his best to try to carry them all over the water.

_What does he think he's doing?! He will not be able to save the children and he’ll drown!_

Azirafell knew firsthand how the other Archangels could be ruthless with anyone who disobeyed Her orders. If caught trying to save the children, Raphael could Fall.

Not that the demon cared, of course. Why should he?

"Raphael!" he shouted, taking human form and flying awkwardly through the storm.

"Azirafell?!" the angel remembered him too. His golden eyes widened with hope. “Azirafell, please! Help me bring these children to the Ark!”

“The Ark? But they cannot come in!”

“They will! There has to be a way! Please, help me!"

"Ugh...!" the demon thought about the possibility. _Saving these kids means I'm going against Heavens plans, right? It's a ‘bad’ thing, isn’t?_ "I ... I'll try!"

The Baron of Hell carried two of them, one on each arm, while the angel carried one on each arm and the third on his shoulders. Raphael's tiredness was evident. He must have been carrying these kids everywhere for days.

After a desperate flight they reached the Ark. Azirafell landed the children with difficult and Raphael reached the deck exhausted. After placing the last child safely on the ship he lost his balance with the rocking sea and fell out of the Ark.

“Raphaeeeeeel!”

The angel's body disappeared into the water.

....................

Inside the Ark there was a cabin that, miraculously, neither Noah nor any of his relatives checked for clandestines. In that place a demon, an angel and five children remained hidden throughout the Deluge.

Azirafell stayed vigil beside Raphael until the angel awoke. He was three days unconscious.

“Mmmm…” the sight of those golden eyes was a balm of relief for the demon. "W-where ...?"

“You idiot!” was the first thing Azirafell said to him.

“I-idiot ...? I ... ah, the c-children...?!”

"They are fine, must be playing with the small animals now." he hurried to say before the angel rose. “But you are not fine! You could have _died!_ I mean, could have been inconveniently discorporated! What if Heaven knew hos you discorporated? You’d Fall! ”

"Huhu!" his faint laugh, adorned by the mischievous smile, made the demon even angrier. "Do y-you care... what can h-happen to me?"

“Err, I care what happens to _me!_ What if you Fall and then tell Hell that I helped you to save some children?! I mean ... somehow we went against Her plans, or ... I don't know, did we? I don't know, but I could be in trouble! Never do this again, Raphael! Never!"

"I'm not... I'm not Raphael anymore."

"What?!"

"I was demoted..." the voice was weak. "Because... you know... the tree in the Garden and my sword..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Don’t sorry. If I was... still... an Archangel... I... would have to stay in heaven all the time ... but now I'm a Principality and I was charged with staying down here... heh... they think they punished me... ugh!” he touched his head.

"Oh, you're really not well!" Azirafell settled the former Archangel's head on a linen pillow. “Must be hungry, right? I'd be after being unconscious for three days. I'll get you something to eat. ”

“N-no! Stay here...!” the golden eyes filled with dread. "Stay here with me!"

"Uh, ok."

The Baron of Hell sat beside the angel and he calmed down. After a few minutes of silence, the demon asked the question:

"What's your name now?"

"Crawly."

"Crawly?"

“Back in Heave they… they said I deserved a name that symbolized my failure and my lowliness in letting Eve take the apple of the tree of knowledge and losing my sword. So... they gave me the name of Crawly, to symbolize the creeping creature I was.”

"Bastards."

"Yep."

"Sorry about the sword."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, you just did your job."

“Hmmm… right. At least you didn't Fall.”

“No, I didn't Fall. Not like you. Too bad you Fell for so little. I mean... laziness, gluttony and envy? As if other angels didn't feel these things up there all the time. Hypocrites."

Azirafell took a long breath. In fact, though the memories of Heaven faded over time, he didn't remember that place as a warm, loving home. Had he spent so little time up there? This generated a doubt that he had to ask someone.

"Crawly, do you think... that love is a sin?"

"Huh?" the angel turned his head toward the demon. "Of course not. Why would love be a sin?

“Because that's what happened to me, wasn't it? My love for the comfort that made me lazy. My love for food that made me be greedy. My love for the Garden that would be denied me made me jealous ... ” he stopped suddenly, squinting to prevent tears from falling. “I felt so angry when I realized I couldn't go back to Heaven anymore! I loved that place, and now I was kicked out forever! I was only happy when I was told that I could go back to the Garden and that I could have all those delights back within my grasp. This generated another sinful feeling in me. And also… ” he stopped again, blushing as he remembered the events that followed.

"Hmmm, I think this is not exactly 'love'."

"So what would it be?"

"Hard to explain." Crawly muttered, he turned his head in a gesture that looked like he wanted to lie on Azirafell's lap. “But you don't _love_ to eat and rest, you can't _love_ a place either. You just _like_ these things. You like to rest, you like to eat, you like Heaven and you like the Garden.”

"Ah, well... maybe you're right."

"Love is lacking in Heaven." the angel looked sad.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. The other angels, they... after the Garden event, they don't even _like_ me anymore. There is no fraternity, just working relationships between boss and employee. I could have Fallen myself if I had insisted on asking many questions for my superiors. I decided to keep them all to myself and conclude that Her plans are simply... ineffable. ”

“Ineffable?”

"Yeah."

It was at this time that the cabin door was opened. One of the children they had saved from the Deluge entered slowly.

"Mr. Crawly?" a small boy with dark hair and complexion smiled when he realized that the angel was awake. "Ah, you woke up!"

"Yes, I woke up, Anás!" the redhead opened his arms to receive the boy, who jumped in his lap. “You're all fine, right? I hope Azirafell is treating everyone well. ”

“Ah, he is! He does magic to pop fruit inside his sleeve! It's very cool! ”

"Great! So it's my turn to do some delicious magic for you guys.” the angel stood up.

"But Rapha- I mean Crawly!" the demon rose to one knee. “You're not well yet, you need to rest!”

"I'm fine now!" he lifted the child in his arms. "There is nothing in this world that gives me more strength than love."

"Love?"

"Yes, Azirafell!" the Principality smiled charmingly. “I love these children! And this is the real _love!_ The feeling of being able to do everything, absolutely everything, when you see that the target of your passion is happy. Even if you can never have that person again, you are still glad that them are fine!”

Azirafell didn't know what to say. And as he considered an argument, he watched that beautiful fatigued angel carry the little child into the labyrinthine interiors of the Ark, willing to use his last strengths to perform miracles and keep them fed and safe. A detachment from one's own unique existence.

_He is so happy!_ the demon thought. _So happy! And seeing him like that makes me feel so... so...!_

It was at this time that Azirafell ran out of the cabin, as if his life depended on it.

In his chest his heart was beating endlessly as his mind raced for thousands of miles, absorbing this new feeling - perhaps the most sinful he has ever felt in his entire centenary life.

Love.


End file.
